Injectables and Non-Invasive Lasers Market is Still Strong

“Anyone who says looks are not important is a liar,” says the 33-year-old account manager, who works for a British marketing agency. “You need to look good – fresh and bright rather than tired and stressed out.”

“I perform better if I feel confident so it may have increased the num­ber of contracts we have won”

“There are definitely more business guys coming in and they have very focused demands,” says Cap Lesesne, pictured, one of Manhattan’s leading cosmetic surgeons. “They are worried about their job futures and their professional longevity.” Typical male patients might be in their mid-forties, he adds. “They’re fairly successful and they’re looking to work into their sixties.”

“I was beginning to look kind of tired and wanted to have something that made me feel refreshed but not surgically altered,” says a 56-year-old maths and science academic. Prolonging his career was a big motivation: “I would like to work for another 10 years.”

In the UK, Steven Clarke, a 25-year-old engineer at Rolls-Royce, has had laser treatment at plastic surgery specialists Harley Medical Group to remove sun scars under his eyes. It seems that younger men, like such as Mr Clarke and Mr Burling are part of a generation that may be more comfortable with the idea of at least the non- invasive treatments.

Mr Clarke says: “If you don’t look after yourself it shows that you’ve got no discipline and that doesn’t reflect well on your work life. I’ve thought that if after lots of late nights working for Rolls- Royce I start to look tired, then I’d probably have an eye lift.”

“People are scared about losing their jobs and they want to look their best.”

“People might say: ‘You look tired.’ What that implies is you’re not as vigorous or energetic, or not as competitive as you might be.”

However, many in the sector are confident that they can weather the storm. “I know we will see a fall-out here even though this is a pretty affluent community,” .

She recentlystimulated demand by offering a 10 per cent holiday discount for facial “injectables”, such as Botox. “In my practice e surgical volume was down so we had to be creative. When the world gives you lemons you make lemonade.

“We’re not recession-proof but we’re recession-resistant,” says Dr Boxrud, who specialises in facial and ophthalmic aesthetic and reconstructive surgery in Hollywood. “There are some surgeons who only do cosmetic surgery and if they are only doing big, cosmetic procedures, they are going to have to rethink their practice.”